Our Principal Nidia Castro

Our Puma in Chief, Nidia Castro was born in Honduras in Central America and immigrated to the United States in 1985 at age of 17 and upon arrival she enrolled in Los Angeles High School in the English as a Second Language (ESL) Program and graduated with Honors in 1988. Upon graduation she was offered a job as a Teacher Assistant at her alma mater and she held this job while going to school. She obtained her B.A. Degree in Spanish Literature with a Minor in Linguistics from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and later attended California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) where she completed her BCLAD/ Single Subject Professional Clear Credential. She taught Spanish Language and Spanish Literature at Los Angeles High School. She later obtained a Master’s in Counseling from Point Loma Nazarene University. Mrs. Castro wanted to make a difference in the personal lives of the students she served and left the classroom to be become a counselor. After five years in this position she went back to school and completed a Master’s in School Administration from Point Loma Nazarene University. After 15 years at Los Angeles High School she joined the brand new team of administrators at Samuel Gompers Middle School in South Central Los Angeles where was responsible for the supervision of instruction of the ESL, Health Science, PE, Special Education Department, Budget,  as well as the after school programs. She then became an Assistant Principal at Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda. During her tenure there she was a member of the writing team for WASC that earned them their six-year accreditation, Title 1 Achievement, and the California Distinguished School Award. Here she was in charge of the AVID, ELD, BTSA, Health Science and Human Service Small Learning Community, Professional Development, and Journalism.  In 2009, she became Principal at Vista Middle School in Panorama City where she was charged with the responsibility of designing, writing, and implementing the Public School of Choice (PSC) 3.0 Plan and meeting the Performance Meter Expectations as well as Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) compliance. She was instrumental for raising the API score while she was there.

 

In 2013, she was given the honor of becoming Northridge Academy High School’s new principal. Ms. Castro’s philosophy of education is simple; she believes that every child can learn, given the right circumstances and she strives to exemplify the motto of the school, “Inspire and Achieve.” Ms. Castro has been an inspiration to her colleagues as well, who voted for her to receive the ACSA Secondary Principal of the Year Award in 2014 and the AALA Secondary Administrator of the year in 2018.  Ms. Castro works closely with parent representatives of the FRIENDS of NAHS, ELAC, SSC, and SLC. She believes in fostering positive relationships with all the stakeholders in her community.